Kurt Waldheim

Kurt Waldheim (21 December 1918-14 June 2007) was Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1 January 1972 to 31 December 1981 (succeeding U Thant and preceding Javier Perez de Cuellar) and President of Austria from 8 July 1986 to 8 July 1992 (succeeding Rudolf Kirchschlager and preceding Thomas Klestil). He was an OVP politician.

Biography
Kurt Waldheim was born in Sankt Andra-Wordern, Austria in 1918. He attended the University of Vienna before and after World War II, in which he served as a young staff officer on the Eastern Front. There, he was involved in military activities resulting in the deportation of Jews and the shooting of Yugoslav Partisans. He entered the Austrian foreign service from university and was Foreign Minister from 1968 to 1970, before being elected successor to U Thant at the UN. His period in office (1972-81) was at a time when the Security Council was regularly deadlocked, so that his efforts at international conciliation seldom succeeded, for example over the Iran hostage crisis, over Namibia, and in the Middle East. After he announced his candidacy for the Austrian presidency, his wartime record became severely criticized by the World Jewish Congress, since when the precise nature of his involvement in the Nazi atrocities, and his responsibility for them, had caused heated discussions. He stuck to his candidacy, however, and was elected with a clear majority. Despite his diplomatic status, he suffered several humiliations, and was barred from visiting the USA as a war criminal. He refrained from standing for a second period of office. Waldheim died in Vienna in 2007 at the age of 88.